Beside the Fire River Stone Bridge, the Shared Fate Talisman in Ouyang Qiang's hand suddenly shattered with a "zzz".

"Hmm, could it be that Yuan Ming has fallen?" Huangfu Jue said.

"The way this Shared Fate Talisman shattered is different from the other three, not due to the talisman's host's demise, but another talisman being crushed." Ouyang Qiang examined the talisman in his hand carefully, speaking thoughtfully.

The members of Dongji Palace heard that Yuan Ming destroyed the Shared Fate Talisman, and their faces turned a bit grim.

"What is that Yuan trying to do? He actually dared to destroy the Shared Fate Talisman!" an elder in a gray robe, bearing the Dongji Palace token, said angrily.

Two other elders from Dongji Palace also shouted furiously, calling to kill Yuan Ming.

These two were a tall and a short middle-aged man, both wearing silver masks on their faces, emitting an eerie aura.

"Enough, no more talking." A trace of impatience flashed across Ouyang Qiang's eyes as she waved her hand.

The three elders immediately shut up obediently.

"Mother, why did you previously send Yuan Ming to scout ahead? His skills are exceptional, and as a Level 5 Array Master, he is actually a good talent." Huangfu Jue hesitated slightly and communicated with Ouyang Qiang through voice transmission.

"This person does have some abilities, but he is not loyal to Dongji Palace, and definitely cannot be utilized," Ouyang Qiang replied coldly.

"Why do you say so?" Huangfu Jue showed a surprised expression.

"Before coming here, I sent people to investigate all Island Masters and elders captured by the Black Evil Sect. Yuan Ming and Mao Yi have been acquainted for a long time, and he was just conspiring with Mao Yi, which makes his identity suspicious—it cannot be guaranteed that he is not a spy of the Black Evil Sect. Juer, when you inherit the position of Palace Master of Dongji Palace in the future, remember when employing people: rather use mediocre talents than villains," Ouyang Qiang transmitted calmly.

Huangfu Jue frowned slightly, feeling that Ouyang Qiang's judgment of Yuan Ming as a Black Evil Sect spy was a bit arbitrary, but at this point, he couldn't argue with Ouyang Qiang, and respectfully agreed.

"Yuan Ming, as a subordinate Island Master of Dongji Palace, defied the orders of the Palace Master and according to the palace regulations, is equivalent to treason. Next time you see this person, no need to hold back, kill him directly," Ouyang Qiang ordered indifferently.

"Yes." Upon hearing this, everyone responded in unison.

Yun Luo Fairy also responded, but she was secretly delighted.

Dongji Palace has severed ties with Yuan Ming, so Yuan Ming can only stand on her side in the future.

"Palace Master Ouyang, Vice Palace Master Huangfu, look." Yun Luo Fairy, spinning thoughts in her mind, spoke up to remind them.

The gaze of Huangfu Jue and others followed the direction Yun Luo Fairy pointed towards, and they were immediately both shocked and angry.

The people from the Black Evil Sect, Luo Jia Mountain, and Azure Dragon Pond had all climbed onto the stone bridge that Yuan Ming had passed and rushed to the other side.

"Let's go too." Ouyang Qiang said, leading the crowd to chase after them.

However, the people of Dongji Palace were ultimately one step slower, and when they stepped onto the stone bridge, the teams from the other three factions were already out of sight.

After ascending the bridgehead, Ouyang Qiang pointed at an elder in a gray robe and said, "You excel at the Earth Technique and have a heavy treasure for protection; you take the lead, and we'll support from behind."

"Palace Master, although I excel at Earth Techniques, my body is not agile enough to take on such a task," the gray-robed elder said, his face changing suddenly, his tone bitter. My Vir-t.ual Lib+ra.ry# Empi&r.e@ (*.)

"Enough nonsense; if scouting is successful, there will be rich rewards upon return. If you refuse to go, I'll kill you right here." Ouyang Qiang's face clouded, unwilling to waste words with him.

"Elder Ding Yuan, don't anger the Palace Master; hurry up and go." The tall mask-wearing elder immediately urged.

"Yes! We have your back, so there won't be any problems." The other short mask-wearing elder comforted.

As long as they weren't the ones to lead, they didn't care about the fate of the gray-robed elder.

The gray-robed elder's face was unpleasant, but knowing there was no choice, he steeled himself and walked onto the bridge.

The others followed, maintaining several feet distance.

None dared to walk too fast, quickly advancing twenty to thirty feet.

Before long, the red mist in front suddenly thickened several times, the gray-robed elder's figure vanished, and the others halted, their faces changing.

"Don't stop, keep going!" Ouyang Qiang's brows furrowed slightly, speaking in a low voice.

Only then did the others step forward, entering the dense red mist.

The dense red mist had low visibility, only allowing sight roughly a few feet ahead; the group moved very cautiously, gripping their Magic Treasures, ready to activate them at any moment.

At this moment, a heartrending scream suddenly came from ahead.

Immediately afterward, they saw a figure burning with Flames, frantically rushing towards them.

Standing at the front were those two mask-wearing elders, who didn't hesitate for a moment, raising their hands, and two glowing Magic Treasures were simultaneously launched, hitting the head and chest of the flaming figure.

With muffled bangs, the figure engulfed in flames was knocked down, collapsing in front of them.

"It's Elder Ding Yuan, it's Elder Ding Yuan..." The tall mask-wearing elder recognized him and shouted immediately.

The others hurried forward to check, but the Flames on the figure were extraordinarily strange, still burning, already disfiguring him beyond recognition.

Ouyang Qiang's brow furrowed slightly, as she turned her wrist, a Dark Blue Ice Pearl emerged in the palm of her hand.

The moment the ice pearl appeared, an extreme cold spread out, transforming into a thin layer of frost mist encircling his palm.

Ouyang Qiang held the ice pearl before her, gently blew at the fiery person on the ground.

A "whoosh" sound arose.

A stream of cold surged from the ice pearl, swooping down on Elder Ding Yuan on the ground.

The cold stream swept over his body, quickly extinguishing the burning flames, revealing a twisted, charred corpse.

Ouyang Qiang crouched down, gently touched it, causing the charred corpse to crumble instantly, like a pile of flour, disintegrating into countless soot particles.

Everyone was terrified by this scene, their faces turned pale as they looked at the road ahead.

"How can a treasure location be without danger? Elder Ding Yuan's sacrifice will be remembered by us all. Elder Yun Liu, you lead the way!" Ouyang Qiang's gaze sharpened, speaking coldly.

The tall masked elder's expression changed, retreating repeatedly.

"If you don't go, your fate won't be much better than Elder Ding Yuan's," Ouyang Qiang glanced at him, spoke coldly.

"Palace Master, I'd rather you kill me than die like Elder Ding Yuan, I fear his Divine Soul is burned to ashes, with no chance of reincarnation," the tall masked elder said in a voice full of despair, shaking his head.

"Elder Yun Liu, there's no need to worry. You're skilled in Water attribute Divine Skills. You may borrow this Extreme Cold Ice Soul Pearl to restrain the flames here. Besides you, no one can unleash its full power. As long as you can guide us through this crisis, this Spiritual Treasure will be your reward," Ouyang Qiang relented, handing the blue ice pearl to the tall masked elder, softening her tone a bit.

The tall masked elder hesitated upon hearing this, looked at the Dark Blue Ice Pearl in Ouyang Qiang's hand, hesitated several times before gritting his teeth and nodded in agreement.

It was the best choice he could make.

Taking the Extreme Cold Ice Soul Pearl from Ouyang Qiang's hand, the tall masked elder walked fearfully towards the bridge.

...

Elsewhere, Yuan Ming was still exploring the maze, standing before a Red Stone Wall, waving his hand to carve a mark on it.

With the newly added mark, there were now twenty-eight intersecting and crisscrossing marks on it.

In fact, this was Yuan Ming's twenty-eighth time standing before this stone wall.

Each time he reached this dead end, he would trace his previous path with a mark. After twenty-eight struggles, not once was it exactly the same, yet he always found himself back at this spot.

Yuan Ming initially attempted to use Divine Thought to sense the terrain of the area, only to find that once he entered this red space, his Divine Sense was sealed, unable to be mobilized.

Helpless, he could only rely on memory to walk different paths, attempting to find the correct route.

Unfortunately, after several probes, he always ended up on the same dead-end path.

Thus, he tried to forcefully break through, planning to simply smash down all these Red Stone Walls one by one, but they seemed to be made of an unknown material, incredibly sturdy. His full-powered punch could only dent a shallow pit, and attempting to smash through them would soon exhaust him.

All he could do was continue trying again and again, but the result remained the same, nothing gained.

Yuan Ming stared dejectedly at the route map carved into the wall, trying to find clues to solve the maze.

After watching for a while, Yuan Ming suddenly frowned, thinking he might have been going in the wrong direction.

He stepped forward, placed his palm against the Red Stone Wall, and carefully sensed a faint aura akin to that of a Flame Beast.

Yuan Ming slightly raised an eyebrow, a smile appearing on his face.

He then twisted his wrist, producing the black Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter.

Earlier, Mao Yi mentioned that this Ruyi Scepter is Emperor Yan's Spiritual Treasure and the key to opening Emperor Yan's Mausoleum, so perhaps the clues to this maze space are also within this treasure.

With a sense of anticipation, Yuan Ming grasped the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter and pressed it against the Red Stone Wall.

The moment the scepter's tip touched the wall, Yuan Ming felt a heat flow from the stick in his hand, pouring into the Red Stone Wall.

A bright yellow light immediately lit up on the wall, moving like a swimming fish along the wall.

"It works!" Yuan Ming's eyes lit up, and he quickly followed.

But as soon as his Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter left the wall, the light faintly disappeared.

Yuan Ming quickly placed the Ruyi Scepter back on the wall, and sure enough, the light reappeared, continuing to move along the wall, swimming forward.

He followed it again, not letting the Ruyi Scepter leave the wall, sliding it along as he moved.

Following that bright line, who knows how long he walked until Yuan Ming finally stopped at another dead-end wall.

The bright yellow light suddenly enlarged, transforming into a rippling arc of light, spreading and flashing across the wall.

Yuan Ming stepped forward, pressing the Emperor Yan's Ruyi Scepter firmly into the center of the light arc, forcefully pressing down.

A hollow sensation came, Yuan Ming's body tilted forward, rushing into the light arc on the wall, and his figure vanished into it.

The light arc on the stone wall also disappeared, returning to its original appearance.